When Yvan Benbanaste assumed the role of fashion coordinator at Pal Zileri in 2007, he took on the near-impossible task of getting the Italian clothier’s multiple licensees to produce outerwear, knitwear, and other sportswear with the same consistency and level of quality the parent company achieved years earlier with its handmade Sartoriale suits. The young stylist achieved his goal of giving Pal Zileri a singular identity by coordinating clothing and sportswear with a uniform color scheme, by elevating the quality of its fabrics, and by streamlining its production methods between factories. Overall, the entire sportswear offering is more tactile—what Bebanaste calls “the emotional side of luxury”—thanks to the incorporation of more opulent fabrics, including double-faced cashmere and wool/cashmere blends for jackets, superfine cotton for shirts, and cashmere for outerwear.
Inside Information
Since 1970 the family-owned company, headed by Aronne Miola, has operated out of a 200-year-old farmhouse that once served as a monastery. A tunnel underneath the building connects the production facility to the brand’s warehouse.
